considering leasing

I am far from a veteran as I just went lease at the first of June. I sort of half listened to IP advise as I did do a year on the company side first but I didn't have any cash set back. Now I do have it set back now so I am going to say I am lucky nothing really went wrong that I would have needed that cash. I will say my wife probably stressed out more about me going lease than I did. Part of that is every time. I was at Prime is. I would talk to other lease drivers and listn to the mistakes they made or what they have do e right. Reading IP's stuff and talking with other driver over the course of a year was a big help to me personally. Do I understand it all? No but I do have a group of people I can call at anytime when I have a question .

 

I leased straight from TnT. I have been successful, but i'm not going to lie its hard and most people fail in their first year. I have not failed and I have had my good and bad weeks and I also stay out for 2-3 months at a time. If I could do it over again I would go company, not much to worry about then but to wake up and drive. Wouldn't go company now, I don't have all the knowledge I would like but I feel I do pretty good

 

Try walking before you run..you're still in the learning phase.
Don't be in a hurry to lease..they will be leasing when you get the experience you need.

 

Hey cardinal,I'm a veteran driver and I say go for it,You & the OP should be able to make enough money in you first year to buy your own trucking company and never drive again.Well thats the dream they're selling anyway...I'm still stuck driving because I never L/P

 

Even if you did lease and were successful at it, the line between what a company driver makes and a L/O makes won't be anything to get excited over. All the BS, hassle and making the payments and paying for the fuel so the company doesn't have to just so you can have the freedom and being told what you can and cant do with the truck and then top that with a big balloon payment at the end that's more than that wore out truck is worth to make about $10-20K more a year than a company driver. Its not worth it. No way in hell would I trust a fresh recruit after the things some have been seen doing just to help make that paycheck into a workable number at the end of the week once you have been raped of your truck payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance kitty etc. Lease is a work of art that companies have conjured up to get someone else to pay their bills while they still rake in the cash. If you want to see a significant difference in pay and know how to properly run a business and know how to save money on repairs by doing them yourself and so on, I would get some experience under your belt learning the industry well, watching the trends rise and fall, save some money and go full O/O. That way when the equipment is paid off, its yours. No unnecessary BS of paying anyone else's bills but your own. No balloon at the end to buy out the equipment and no getting sucked into another lease.

Prime tried to get me to lease, I turned and walked out laughing all the way back to my COMPANY truck.

 

This is why prime and many of the others will always have a sucker paying for their trucks. INSTANT GRATIFICATION. I'm truly amazed at how many of these guys come on here thinking they have the skills not only to get from point A to point B. But to operate a business in which they are new to. I look forward to him bashing prime in about 2 or 3 months.

 

I spent months off work from a company job, going day and night doing my home work and creating 3 different business structures and applying my experience to it. When the opportunity was thrown in my lap to start a business I wanted to make sure it would be successful and it is. Just hoping family BS where I got my chance isn't going to get brought to a grinding halt because I'm doing better than I ever have but its in the terms and stipulations with the money involved from a family member. I'd hate nothing more than to go back to being a company #####. I've invested to much time to do so. Its not easy running your own business but it is rewarding in the end if your smart about it. My step dad leased a truck with Prime back in 03' and lost his arse. He had the mentality of run as much as you can and get it there as fast as you can even with a simple $655 truck payment. Fuel and poor load selection killed him. Even though he is no longer part of the family I still have his settlements which I learned a lesson from to keep from making those same mistakes. Work smarter, not harder!

 

Well it's not any different leasing a truck from Prime either. You can make it work... I did. Sazook did. Dr. Z did. Olphart has been successful through multiple leases.

You have to be smart, KNOW what it takes to be successful the day you hit the pavement, and watch your expenses. If you don't run your business properly... whether you outright own a truck, owe the bank money or lease it from a carrier, you'll end up at the side of the road wondering which carrier is gonna pay you pennies per mile next.

 

I'm just getting ready to take my first trucking job - just got my CDL yesterday morning. I researched making the career move to trucking for about 3 years before my wife and I pulled the trigger. I've been a self-employed contractor for 5 years, a successful retail business owner for going on 3 years. I grew up in a family business and learned basic business principles like figuring your gross profit margin, managing your business costs (down to the detail), having discipline to set aside earnings for income tax, juggling how much inventory to buy with payroll, etc... I had some great business mentors.

I've never seen an industry where people new in the industry are encouraged to become business owners without any proper business training or prior experience. That seems ludicrous to me. I understand why the trucking companies do it. It's no real surprise the concept of leasing has taken on such a negative reputation. I think it's a great opportunity for some, a financial disaster waiting to happen for others. Some drivers fail because they are drivers, not drivers AND business people.

I would never consider leasing as a rookie, even with my business experience, the least obvious reason being that I need to learn how to become a driver first. Certain general business practices can be applied across the board, but knowing the particulars of an industry is not only wise but sometimes key in order to just keep your head above water, let alone be successful.

You folks tried your best to advise this individual, I commend you for that. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Sometimes the #### thing won't even budge to get to the water...

 

don't do it... wait a year ... if you are making money as a company driver after a year .. then you have a better shot at it ...

drive as a company driver and work out all the problems you will be faced with learning this job